From poking fun at Kanye West, to curating playlists, to singing with Willie Nelson, to hosting the recent South by South Lawn festival at the White House, President Obama has taken advantage of his musical know-how in unprecedented ways.

The visionary director has not only changed how we see movies across the last four decades, he’s changed how we hear them too. Collaborators including Trent Reznor and composer Angelo Badalamenti—along with the man himself—talk about the secrets to unsettling soundtrack success.

Everything you need to know about the new Grateful Dead tribute album curated by members of the National, along with insight on the band’s legacy from artists including Courtney Barnett, Real Estate, and more.

Fifty years ago, the composer debuted his tape-loop experiment Come Out—a piece that put forth the voice of a man beaten by police, an injustice that still reverberates in our Black Lives Matter moment.